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King's Students' Union

You are the King’s Students’ Union – as a student, it is your collective voice on campus, and provides advocacy and democratic representation as well as student societies and myriad services.

The King’s Students’ Union (KSU) is an organization made up of every student at King’s. The KSU acts as the representative voice of King’s students, providing advocacy and direct representation through the Council of Students and offering a number of services, such as the Health & Dental Plan, free contraceptives, intramural sports programs, and the Galley and Wardroom. For more information, read on, and check out our website and Facebook page.

Representation

The governing body of the KSU is the Council of Students, or just ‘Council’. Council is made up of fifteen elected student representatives who each either represent a specific constituency or have a particular specialized role. Council is the body that creates and manages committees, ratifies your student societies and allocates all student society funding, and directs the Union throughout the year. Council meets every two weeks; our meeting are open to the public and minutes from all of our meetings are available online here.

You also have a crucial role to play in choosing the direction of the KSU – twice a year at General Meetings the entire membership of the Union – all King’s students – vote on the budget and the major committees. At General Meetings you get to decide on the priorities and focus of your Union for the year.

There are loads of other ways to get involved with the KSU. We have over thirty elected positions on various committees, we hire about ten students for various staff positions, and all of our forty (and counting) student societies are entirely student-operated and student-funded.

Finally, your elected representatives also represent you to the University administration. You have two elected Board of Governors Representatives who sit on the King’s Board of Governors along with the KSU President, and many other councillors sit on other University bodies like the Finance Committee and the Equity Committee.

Services

The Union provides numerous services and resources to all King’s students. We provide a comprehensive Health & Dental Plan that students are automatically enrolled in each year but that you can opt out of if you want. We have loads of free condoms, lube, dental dams, and other sexual health products available for free in our office, and we also have sexual health zines and resources that are frequently updated. We also offer a free member handbook and dayplanner to all students.

All of your student societies on campus are ratified (officially certified as societies) by the King’s Students’ Union, and anyone can start a society for whatever they like. Your society can receive funding from the Union to run events, provide services, and get students involved. Notice a pattern? All of these societies are 100% organized, operated, and made up of students like you! From the nationally famous King’s Theatrical Society to the oldest literary society in North America, the Haliburton Society, from King’s PRIDE to Students Against Israeli Apartheid, from the Anarchist Cheerleaders Collective to the Michael Cera Soceity – not only is there something for everyone, but our students are engaged in professional productions and events, radical political campaigns and organizing, and almost every niche activity you can think of. Check out the full list of societies from 2014-2015 here.

The KSU owns and operates two student-run businesses on campus – the King’s Galley and the HMCS Wardroom. The Galley is a locally-sourced and ethical café that offers delicious coffee, many varieties of tea, and Hali-famous grilled cheese, as well as other goodies. The Wardroom is a student lounge and study space by day and a lively bar by night (open to all ages for King’s students). Both businesses employ students and are managed and governed by you as well!

The Union also runs programs and events for students all year long. We offer the only 100% student-run Orientation Week in Canada and an equally exciting Graduation Week in the Spring, and throughout the year we organize workshops, panels, parties, events, and more – and that’s not even counting the student society events.

Advocacy

The KSU is Local 11 of the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS). The CFS lobbies and advocates for students’ rights at the provincial and national level, conducts research on post-secondary education, and supports several social justice and equity campaigns. They also offer several services to students, like the International Student Identity Card, Travel CUTS, an ethical bulk purchasing network, and more. By uniting with other students’ unions across the country through the CFS, the KSU is able to offer services and effect change not only on a local level, but also at a provincial and national level. For more information about the CFS, check out their website.

You have access to the services and activities of several levied societies through the KSU as well. These societies collect a dedicated fee from each student and offer a wide range of services. Some of your levied societies include The Watch, your campus newspaper, CKDU, your campus-community radio station, and the South House Sexual and Gender Resource Centre.

Contact

Visit us! For more information about the King’s Students’ Union or any of our services or student societies, drop by our office in the Link between the New Academic Building and the Arts & Administration Building. You can also call the office at 902-429-3399.